Welcome all to another edition of Forcing the Will! I originally planned to cover the Vengevine Survival deck for you all, but prior to submitting my article and videos my new hard drive decided to fail on me. With that I lost all the data for this week’s article as well as the videos for the Vengevine Survival deck. Have no fear though I will still cover the Vengevine Survival deck in my next article, but in the meantime I put together something slightly different than normal. We’ll cover the upcoming From the Vault: Relics set as well as adding some newer cards to the Legacy checklist. First, let’s kick things off with the Legacy Metagame.
Legacy Metagame
8/3/2010 (Event #1448516)
(4-0) Dredge
(3-1) Zoo
(3-1) Death and Taxes (DnT)
(3-1) Survival Rock (Red Splash)
(3-1) Enchantress
(3-1) Show and Tell/Hypergenesis
8/5/2010 (Event #1462469)
(4-0) Enchantress
(3-1) Countertop/Thopter
(3-1) Belcher (0 lands)
(3-1) Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT)
(3-1) Bant
8/7/2010 (Event #1462501)
(4-0) Bant
(3-1) Merfolk
(3-1) Zoo
(3-1) Countertop/Thopter
(3-1) Enchantress
8/8/2010 (Event #1462525)
(4-0) Dark Countertop/Thopter
(4-0) Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT)
(3-1) Aluren
(3-1) Zoo
(3-1) Death and Taxes (DnT)
(3-1) Belcher (0 lands)
8/9/2010 (Event #1462531)
(4-0) Aluren
(4-0) BGU Control
(3-1) Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT)
(3-1) Red Deck Wins (RDW)
(3-1) Countertop/Thopter
(3-1) Death and Taxes (DnT)
(3-1) Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT)
8/10/2010 (Event #1462557)
(4-0) Aluren
(3-1) New Horizon
(3-1) BGU Control
(3-1) Vengevine Survival
(3-1) Rock
(3-1) Mono Blue Control
(3-1) Aluren
8/12/2010 (Event #1484132)
(4-0) Elves
(3-1) Death and Taxes (DnT)
(3-1) Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT)
(3-1) Merfolk
(3-1) UBGW Landstill
(3-1) Aggro Loam
8/12/2010 (Event #1484134)
(4-0) Zoo
(3-1) BGU Control
(3-1) Death and Taxes (DnT)
(3-1) Zoo
(3-1) UGW Control
8/13/2010 (Event #1484165)
(4-0) Zoo
(3-1) UGW Control
(3-1) Dredge
(3-1) Rb Goblins
(3-1) Aggro Loam
8/14/2010 (Event #1484161)
(4-0) Rb Goblins
(3-1) Elves
(3-1) Dredge
(3-1) Survival Rock (Red Splash)
(3-1) UGW Control
(3-1) Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT)
8/15/2010 (Event #1484186)
(4-0) BGU Control
(3-1) Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT)
(3-1) Elves
(3-1) Red Deck Wins (RDW)
(3-1) Belcher (0 lands)
8/16/2010 (Event #1484203)
(4-0) Aluren
(4-0) Aluren
(3-1) Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT)
(3-1) Dredge
(3-1) Dredge
(3-1) 3c Thresh
(3-1) Survival Bant
Top Winning Legacy Decks
Deck/Wins/Percentage of Wins
1. Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT) 8 11.76%
2. Aluren 6 8.82%
3. Death and Taxes (DnT) 5 7.35%
4. Dredge 5 7.35%
5. Zoo 5 7.35%
6. BGU Control 4 5.88%
7. Countertop/Thopter 4 5.88%
8. Survival Variants 4 5.88%
9. Belcher 3 4.41%
10. Elves 3 4.41%
11. Enchantress 3 4.41%
12. Aggro Loam 2 2.94%
13. Bant 2 2.94%
14. Goblins 2 2.94%
15. Merfolk 2 2.94%
16. Red Deck Wins (RDW) 2 2.94%
17. UGW Control 2 2.94%
18. Mono Blue Control 1 1.47%
19. New Horizon 1 1.47%
20. Rock 1 1.47%
21. Show and Tell 1 1.47%
22. Standstill 1 1.47%
23. Thresh 1 1.47%
Total Decks: 68
Wow can you believe that after 12 weeks in a row Zoo finally fell from the #1 spot to the #5 spot. This shouldn’t come as any surprise as Zoo has a hard time handling a lot of the combo decks in the format, and looking at the top 3 we see 2 combo deck which is a good indication that the format is moving toward a combo period. Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT) took over the #1 spot this week, and after placing 1st in the Legacy MOCS I expected to see an increase if players playing this deck. Even with the banning of Mystical Tutor ANT has been able to adapt with the same amount of craziness as before.
Aluren lands in the #2 spot this week being the other Combo deck that has been doing very well this past month. With disruption, counters, and a toolbox of creatures Aluren is a Combo deck that can fight off most decks, but the deck still has its weaknesses. Jumping back up in the Top 3 to the #3 spot this week is Death and Taxes (DnT). Death and Taxes (DnT) has the ability to take control of the game vs. most Aggro decks, but can struggle against Combo decks if it doesn’t draw the pieces it needs to combat them.
Overall I’d have to say the Legacy format is looking fairly healthy at the moment even thought the number of tournaments and players has dropped which is expected since the Legacy MOCS has passed. Make sure to get plenty of practice against Aggro, Combo, Control, and Dredge decks for the upcoming weeks, and if you have removed your grave hate from your sideboard add it back in as Dredge has been making a lot of appearances.
From the Vault: Relics
Let’s take a look at the new From the Vault set and what it means to Legacy:
Aether Vial – (Reprint – New Art) A big contender in Legacy decks mostly in the Tribal decks such as Goblins and Merfolk. Vial is worth about 2.50 tix for a regular copy and about 7 tix for a foil copy. I am a big fan of the new art and if you combine the fact that it’s foil I would suggest picking up a playset especially if you don’t have a set yet. Conclusion: Buy 4
Black Vise – (Reprint – New Art) A good old classic from the days long gone. Vise is currently banned in Legacy, and expect it to remain that way. Vintage won’t ever be trying to run this card so for now it’s just a fun little card to use in the Casual Room. The new art is okay not the best or worst, but I wouldn’t go crazy over this reprint of Vise. Conclusion: Pass
Isochron Scepter – (Reprint – New Art) A fun little tool to utilize Orims Chant, Counterspell, Swords to Plowshares or any other type of removal or burn spell one might want to take advantage of. Scepter hasn’t seen much play lately in Legacy, but it has potential and is used in various decks. The new art is better than the original, but not as good as the promo version. You’ll definitely want to have a playset of these laying around in your collection. Conclusion: Buy 4
Ivory Tower – (Reprint – New Art) More of a Casual card than a tournament one. I have seen some decks that utilize Tower, but I have yet to lose to any deck running them. This card will have no impact on Legacy and isn’t one I would urge one to pick up. Conclusion: Pass
Jesters Cap – (Reprint) This card can singlehandedly win games against those decks that rely on certain cards to combo off. If you are able to get this card in play and activate it you can usually pull ahead into a win. Black has Sadistic Sacrament, but Cap allows any color to run it. Conclusion: Buy 2
Karn, Silver Golem – (Reprint) An iconic card that still sees regular play in Vintage tournaments, but not so much in Legacy. Karn does a good job in Mud and Stax, but having the same art I would prefer the UZ foil version over this. Conclusion: Buy 1
Masticore – (New to MTGO – New Art) This card was a beast back in the days of Destiny, but has since faded out of his glory days. The new art is much better than the old art, but don’t expect this guy to be popping up in any tournament decks. Conclusion: Pass
Memory Jar – (Reprint) Anyone who knows anything about Vintage knows just how crazy this card is, and for good reason. Jar allows players to refuel their hands to build up amazing storm counts and finish off Combo pieces. Jar is banned in Legacy, but it is currently unrestricted in Classic. If you’re a Legacy player Conclusion: Pass , but if you’re a classic player Conclusion: Buy 4
Mirari – (Reprint) I’m getting tired of seeing this card reprinted. It was good once a long time ago, but hasn’t surfaced since. This card won’t be having any impact in the eternal formats. Conclusion: Pass
Mox Diamond – (Reprint – New Art) The big cheese and the main reason to even buy FTV: Relics. With the new art that mirrors that of the moxen given out for the Vintage tournaments it allows players to have a card with similar nostalgic artwork. This card ran at about 35 tix when it settled in price, and if you think about it paying about 35 bucks for a box of all these foiled out cards is a steal. I was lucky enough to sell my set for 33 tix each, but if you don’t want to pay hard cash for a box you can always try the boards to buy a set with tix. No matter how you get your Mox get it anyway you can. Conclusion: Buy 4
Nevinyrrals Disk – (Reprint – New Art) The old school Pernicious Deed that doesn’t need the cost of X to sweep away the battlefield. Disk sees some play in Legacy, and will remain a card that will reappear in decks from time to time. Conclusion: Buy 2
Sol Ring – (New to MTGO – New Art) One Ring to rule them all… Well that’s what the new art suggests. Ring is currently banned in Legacy and will always be that way as long as Wizards tries to keep the format from being too broken. Vintage and Classic players can rejoice knowing they can get their hands on a foil copy with killer new art. Legacy Conclusion: Pass Classic Conclusion: Buy 1
Sundering Titan – (Reprint) Titan brings back sweet and bitter memories of the days of Tooth and Nail, but like most cards in STD and EXT formats they quickly disappear into the back of players’ minds. Titan just isn’t the same with all the new fatties in the format. Conclusion: Pass
Sword of Body and Mind – (New to MTGO) A new Sword that allows creatures to have protection from Green. This card will be useful in Death and Taxes (DnT) as a way to hold off those pesky Tarmogoyfs among other cards. The new Sword is much weaker in power compared to its two brothers. The ability to put a 2/2 wolf creature into play will help fend off an opponent or allow you to beat in with a few extra damage. The second ability to mill an opponent for 10 cards can quickly ruin an opponent’s game plan, but may not always work with many decks running Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. Regardless I expect sword to see play in Legacy. Conclusion: Buy 1
Zuran Orb – (Reprint – New Art) A card that makes appearances quite often in the sideboard of Lands and Loam decks. Orb doesn’t see much play outside of these decks that like to abuse their lands. The new art is much better than the old art, but with the card being reprinted so many times I expect the price to be low. Conclusion: Buy 4
FTV: Relics provides players with many reprints with revamped art, but the only real reasons to pick up this set is for the Mox Diamond and Sol Ring for Classic players. All the other cards should be considered extra goodies, and at the price of 35 bucks I think it’s a steal for foil versions of all these cards. Be sure to pick up your playset of Mox Diamonds while you can.
In my first article for MTGO Academy I went over a checklist of cards that every Legacy player should own which can be found here. Since then we have had some new sets come out, and I haven’t updated the checklist to show these cards. I’ll take this opportunity to go over these 2 new sets. Keep in mind that cards already on the checklist won’t be shown on the list below even if they are in the set.
Rise of Eldrazi
4x Coralhelm Commander
4x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4x Hellcarver Demon
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Realms Uncharted
4x See Beyond
4x Vengevine
4x Wall of Omens
M11
4x Autumn’s Veil
4x Back to Nature – no need for Tranquility anymore.
4x Fauna Shaman
4x Leyline of Sanctity
4x Phylactery Lich
4x Preordain
4x Pyretic Ritual
2x Stormtide Leviathan
That’s all for this week. Again I would like to apologize for the inconvenience of having a shorter article than usual, but rest assured I will get those videos for you guys and cover the Vengevine Survival deck for you all. As always please feel free to leave any comments, questions, or requests you have good or bad, and I will do my best to respond to them. Thanks for reading and until next time may the Force of Will be with you!
KillerOwen